A/N~ Hey Folks! Here's the first chapter of my new story. It is set in I'maMePanda's M7 YP AU, like Trouble Canyon. Here, it's a few months later and the story is mostly focused on my OC Danny, and JD. My OC Jess is also here. We begin to get more details and info on my Danny, and how the relationship with he and Jess is going.
While there is no actual CP in this story, it is discussed/mentioned and the boys do get into a bit of hot water.
Stealing a phrase from I'maMePanda, "I write stories that may contain CP, not 'CP' stories." :)
As always, gargantuan sized thanks to I'maMePanda for her assistance, her graceful handling of my barrages of emails, and for letting me play in her YP sandbox. So blessed by her friendship! Do check out her awesome stories if you haven't already!
"Well?" Danny asked JD as he came running up behind the livery. JD shook his head.
"Buck says I can't go unless Jess goes." JD couldn't have pouted any harder, Danny was sure.
"But Jess can't go...he's working the range the next couple days." Danny's disappointed statement got a nod from JD.
"I know. Buck says he can't go cuz Chris is out of town transporting that prisoner and he needs to stay in town." Danny leaned his arms on the fence rail and watched the horses milling around. JD climbed the rails and straddled the top.
"Would've been awful fun..." he muttered, dropping inside and heading for Danger. Moments trickled by and Danny followed his friend inside the corral, headed towards Chaucer. The unfriendly equine seemed to like JD and Danny just fine, for whatever reason.
"JD...what if...what if we went anyway?"
JD looked up, startled that Danny had suggested such a thing.
"Buck would kill me...Jess would kill you!" Danny shook his head, rubbing Chaucer's nose.
"Not if...what if.." Danny trailed off for a moment, and then continued on, sounding angry, "We aren't babies, JD. I was taking care of myself for a long time before Jess..." JD shrugged and tipped his head, "I dunno, Danny...I wanna go, but I don't wanna get in trouble."
Danny frowned, moving to Chaucer's side and keeping his cheek against the horse's shoulder. "What if you tell Buck that Jess is going...and I tell Jess that Buck is going?"
JD had just used the fence rail to climb on Danger bareback, and he started at Danny's suggestion, grabbing Danger's mane in a quick motion so he didn't slide back off. Danger side stepped, tossing his head in a bit of a miffed manner. JD held on during the equine's tantrum, patting the side of his neck with a quiet apology as he calmed, and exclaiming, "Danny!" once he righted himself.
Danny turned to JD, a somewhat wicked gleam in his eyes, that also quirked up one side of his mouth, and JD was sure he'd never before seen that look on his friend.
"What? It's nothing bad JD, it's just a trick show. I've never been to one...and I'm 18, not 5." Danny ran a hand down Chaucer's neck and headed for the fence.
"I'm going. You coming?" Danny climbed up and over the fence and looked back at JD.
"Danny...I don't..." JD honestly didn't know what to do with Danny like this. Danny was calm. Level headed. He didn't get all wild and excited. He certainly never suggested doing something so blatantly...wrong. But it was clear from the look on Danny's face, he was doing it, with or without JD. JD sighed. If they got caught, they were going to be dead. Buried in the cemetery, DEAD.
"When you want to leave?" he asked, leaning forward and hugging Danger's neck. Danny's eyes lit up.
"Tomorrow."
"Mr. Wilmington said he could go, Jess." Danny shifted on his bunk, but got the words out without faltering, though he'd surprised himself. The more he thought about it, the more he knew it was a bad idea. But it frustrated him that he had to ask for permission to go in the first place.
"Alright Danny, you leaving tomorrow morning?" Jess's easy way of agreeing caused a quick tightening of Danny's heart. Danny, (not counting the firecrackers incident) hadn't ever lied to Jess before or since, so there'd be no reason for him to think otherwise.
"Yessir. I think we'll be back the next day." Jess grinned at Danny from his spot on his bunk.
"Have fun, Kid." Danny smiled, fairly certain it didn't look forced. Exactly what was wrong with him?! Why was lying to a man he hadn't even known 6 months ago so difficult?
JD hung on the fence railing and watched the horse and rider in awe. He looked at Danny, standing next to him and whispered, "Did you see that?"
Danny grinned. He was standing right next to him. "I did, JD. It was amazing."
"Danny, that person stood on the horse's back, while they were moving and shot the target out of the sky!" His voice was a whisper, and his eyes were big as silver dollars. Danny couldn't help but laugh. Sometimes JD seemed way more than just a little bit his junior. And it wasn't shot out of the sky, but, close enough he wasn't going to bicker the point.
"I know, I saw it too." He cuffed his friend on the back and said, "Here comes the next act. Think it's some fancy bull riding." He nodded towards the arena, which was just a glorified corral. JD bounced in his excitement and turned back to watch as a bull came charging out of a chute, a man clinging tightly to his back. Danny watched in amazement as the man stayed stuck to the bull like a tick. This was a bit more interesting to him than the horse and rider. Horses you could train, but a bull? That was all the person. And this wasn't regular old bull riding either. He watched as the man got to his feet, the bull still charging everywhere, and his mouth dropped open in shock as the man suddenly did a flip off the bull's back, landing on his feet. He took a quick bow and then raced for the corral fence, vaulting over it like it wasn't near 6 ft tall. He wondered if Vin had ever done something like that. He was going to ask the tracker the first chance he got! JD stayed hanging off the fence, but his eyes were impossibly wide as he looked over his shoulder at Danny. Danny nodded, his own awed look matching JD's. He didn't know how they could possibly be any more awed than they already were with just the two acts they'd seen, but he knew there were more. He stepped forward, grabbed the fence rail and pulled himself up near JD.
"Are ya glad we came?" He whispered. He still felt awfully guilty, but he was sure he wouldn't feel so bad if JD was having fun. JD glanced at him,.
"This is great!" he whispered almost reverently, then riveted his eyes back inside the arena, as five men came in, rifles at their sides, another couple men behind them carrying what appeared to be targets and other equipment. Danny smiled. JD was happy. He had been amazed. That made this time even better. So why did he still feel this annoying niggling of guilt? He shoved the guilt down and watched the men begin to set up the arena, wondering just what these people were going to do.
They had watched another couple acts, trick shooting like Danny had never seen, people shooting at targets in crazy assortments of places, including out of people's hands, off a really tall pole, where you almost couldn't even see the target, and there was a man on horseback, riding in wide circles, who shot bottles that were hanging from a line they'd strung across the arena! That Danny thought, was more for the enjoyment of watching...it was nifty, but there definitely wasn't anything really special about it. If you couldn't hit a fairly stationary bottle from the back of your horse, you probably shouldn't be wearing a weapon. He grinned at his next thought. The person who shot a flaming arrow through a tiny hoop, that was all the way across the arena, that had been pretty amazing.
When the show broke for lunch, the two wandered over to a cart where a man in an apron, was selling food. JD couldn't make out what the sign on the side of the cart said, but the man grinned as the boys got close. He was waving some kind of utensil in one hand, while stirring a huge bowl of...something that sat on the cart.
"Pork and 'kraut?" he asked, his accent heavy enough JD almost couldn't make out what he'd said, watching as the man dished some of the bowl's contents into a smaller container, without waiting for either of them to respond.
"Pork and what?" JD asked, peering into the bowl the man held out to him with a clearly confused look.
"Kraut...It's...cabbage, JD." Danny whispered, before quietly engaging the man in conversation. JD watched his friend in disbelief for a few seconds before he was unable to keep quiet.
"Danny! How do you...Do you understand him?" JD asked in awe. Danny ignored JD's question, still talking to the merchant. Frowning a bit, JD watched Danny hand the merchant some coins. Why was it he felt he didn't know a lot about Danny when he was pretty sure, Danny knew everything about him? Huh. Danny turned slightly to hand JD the bowl the man had handed him.
"Yeah, I do." Danny answered JD's previous question, nodding at something the merchant said and taking the second bowl the man handed him.
"Thank you." Danny said, elbowing JD when his friend just stood there.
"Yeah, thank you!" JD stuttered, lifting his bowl as if in indication of what he was thanking the man for. Danny shook his head with a bit of a grin and headed away from the small food cart, knowing JD would follow him.
Leading them back towards the small cluster of trees that they'd sheltered the horses under when they arrived that morning, Danny listened to JD ramble on behind him, not sure he wanted to answer even half the ridiculous questions pouring from his curious friend. Not that the younger boy was giving him any chance to respond anyway, the inquiries just tumbling from his mouth like water in a creek after a heavy rain.
"Do you know that man?"
"What language was that?"
"Does Jess know you speak another language?"
"What's this food again?"
"What'd he say to you?"
"Did you learn it in the gang?"
"Why would someone in the gang teach you another language?"
Danny walked a bit faster, getting slightly annoyed with the turn JD's questions were taking. He still had no idea why he'd ever mentioned to JD that he'd been in a gang. Not that JD hadn't been good to his word. He hadn't told anyone else. And, Danny hadn't been dumb enough to tell JD what gang he'd been in, but it's not like his last name wasn't a dead giveaway. He wasn't sure why JD hadn't connected the dots yet, truth be told. He supposed his Irish roots showing through with his slight accent and his bright red hair didn't lend much to the notion of his relation to the gang.
For the love of all that was good and decent though, couldn't his friend stop firing questions at him? Didn't JD need to breathe? Letting out a sigh as he neared Banjo, he gave a gentle rub to the horses head and grinned when the horse bumped his shoulder in return. "You can't have this, ya beggar." Danny spoke softly to the large dapple gray. He sat down next to Banjo's front legs, letting out a chuckle as he felt his horse picking at his hair.
"Daannnny, ain't ya gonna tell me anything?!" JD's clearly whining voice came from the other side of Banjo, and Danny debated saying no, actually almost ordered his friend to stop talking and eat. He quickly dismissed that though, figuring it would just bring more whining. Sighing heavily, Danny took a quick bite of his meal before answering.
"Dutch, JD. The man was speaking Dutch. I had...relatives when I was small. They taught me." Danny stuffed another bite of the food in his mouth, wanting to savor this food he hadn't had in ages, but could remember his Aunt…
"Danny! How come you never told me you could talk in 'nother language?" JD's voice preceded him, as he came around Danger, and under Banjo's head, to drop down next to Danny, his hazel eyes wide with curiosity. He still held his bowl of food, but he hadn't taken even a bite, if Danny's guess was correct and he used that to his advantage.
"JD, eat. For it gets cold." Danny spoke quietly, pointing at JD's bowl with his fork, before popping yet another bite in his mouth and ignoring JD's frown.
Back at the arena an hour later, JD was hanging off the railing, watching as men began to set up large crates near one end of the arena.
"Whatcha think they're gonna do, Danny?" JD began bouncing in place on the railing, unable to keep still, his excitement almost tangible. It seemed to leak onto Danny, as the older teen jumped onto the fence himself and climbed to the top, straddling it.
"I don't know JD, but I bet it'll be….."
"Hey! Quit that for you break the fence!" The annoyed call came from a burly man carrying a long piece of wood over his shoulder. He paused in his trek across the arena to add a glare to his warning, obviously expecting the boys to obey.
Danny jumped down quickly, a stricken look crossing his face just long enough for JD to notice.
"JD, get down!" Danny hissed, watching the man in the arena cautiously.
Grumbling, JD did so, Danny letting out a relieved breath of air when JD's feet hit the ground.
"We weren't hurting the fence none," JD said, moving back to the fence once the man continued on his journey. Despite his words, JD didn't climb the fence again, but looked over his shoulder at Danny and asked, "Why'd that man scare ya?"
Giving JD an exasperated look, Danny shook his head. "Not scared! He was upset. Ain't giving no one reason to get mad at me."
JD shrugged, not entirely believing his red headed friend but letting it go for the moment. Turning back to the arena, JD bounced up on his toes to see over the top railing and was quickly redirected from pestering Danny with questions, exclaiming, "I think they're making a jump, Danny!"
Danny moved to JD's side and they watched the men finish their set up. "Definitely a jump, JD!" Danny agreed a moment later. They continued watching as two young men leading horses entered the opposite side of the arena. Danny looked back and forth from the horses, to the "jumps" on the other side before looking at JD, his eyes bright with understanding. JD nodded before he could say a thing.
"Racing and jumping, Danny!"
The boys watched as a third set of two men on horseback raced down the arena, clearing the jumps within seconds of each other and heading back the other way. The announcement at the start of the race had said there were five sets of racers signed up. They'd be eliminated time wise as they moved along in the event.
As the racers came to a halt, Danny suddenly wished Banjo wasn't such a large horse. It'd be awfully fun to try racing….and not nearly as dangerous as half the stuff they'd seen so far. But, racing wasn't really the large quarter horse's best ability. He grinned as he heard Jess's voice in his head, "Danny, that horse of yours is better suited to wagon pulling than cattle ranching. Maybe we should get you another horse?" Danny shook his head. Yeah, there was no way his Banjo would win any kind of race and even knowing that Jess was teasing him, there was no way he was giving up his big lug of a horse either. The horse was the only connection he had left to…
"Danger could beat 'em all, know that Danny?" Danny startled from his thoughts at JD's words and he quickly shook his head, frowning in what he hoped was a convincing manner.
"Don't even think about it, JD! Mr. Wilmington would really kill you...and me! Cuz I brought you here….And Jess..." Danny shuddered, not wanting to even entertain those thoughts, despite having just been thinking the same thing. "Just, no!" he added as fiercely as he could. To Danny's surprise, JD laughed.
"I ain't racing Danger like that. Just saying, he's fast enough."
Staring at JD a moment longer, Danny's face broke out in a grin and he shoved JD's shoulder. "Better not. I may kill ya if you try!"
The rest of the afternoon passed so quickly that Danny couldn't believe it when he looked up to see the sun had shifted in the sky and would be setting soon. After the races, they had watched more trick riding, even one where the lady on horseback did a handstand in the saddle! But, he was pretty sure his favorite was the knife throwing competition they'd watched. It had made him wish he was more comfortable around Mr. Jackson than he was. He knew that JD's brother's skills were quite good, but the man in the arena had done a whole bunch of fancy moves, twisting and twirling his knives before aiming and hitting targets...and he'd even hit an apple that was sitting on someone's head!
Danny wondered just how hard that could be….he thought about asking Mr. Jackson, but quickly dismissed it as a sure fire way to get himself in hot water with the healer. He winced as he thought about how angry the man might get...though Danny was pretty sure it was more likely he'd give out some lecture about safety. Unable to stop himself, he posed the question to JD to verify, and the younger boy looked absolutely horrified that Danny had even thought about asking his older brother such a ridiculous question.
A parade of white horses came into the arena next, doing fancy steps, walking sideways and backwards, then rearing up all in a line, all at the exact same time. It was nifty but neither Danny or JD were really paying attention as they were too busy talking about the knife thrower's abilities, and not Mr. Jackson's.
The two stopped talking minutes later, as another announcement was being hollered across the arena, thanking everyone for coming and spending the day with the crew of Zeppelli's Traveling Trick Show. The next words from the man on horseback had JD and Danny looking warily at each other and backing away from the arena fence as if it was about to light on fire, while most other folks were gathering closer.
Fireworks were no longer overly appealing to either boy.